Pain hurts. Chronic pain hurts all the time. Left untreated, it can affect your quality of life, your mental health, and your ability to work.
If you suffer from pain that affects your work, you may wonder if you are eligible for long-term disability (LTD) benefits. As with any LTD claim, you need to show that your chronic pain prevents you from working.
What is Chronic Pain?
The main difficulty in diagnosing and understanding pain is that you can’t ‘see’ it.
Medical authorities regard pain that lasts for three months or more to be chronic. In terms of LTD benefits, many insurance providers deem chronic pain as pain that lasts six months or more.
- The pain can be anywhere in your body
- It can happen to anyone, though it is more likely to occur as you get older
- Pain symptoms can be anything from mild and intermittent to debilitating and constant
- The causes can vary but can include issues with pain receptors after an injury or damaged nerves
- The pain can interfere with your day-to-day life; it can stop you from certain activities; it can always be on your mind; and can cause you stress, depression or anxiety
- The pain may be resistant to medication or other forms of treatment.
Yes, You can Get LTD Benefits
The Supreme Court of Canada has recognized chronic pain as a disability. If your symptoms prevent you from working, you may be eligible for LTD benefits from your employer’s insurance provider. However, due to the difficulty in diagnosing and understanding its symptoms, you need to be more thorough than usual when applying for benefits. You must carefully document your case, diagnosis, symptoms, medical history, and the effects on your job performance.
Professional legal advice is a good idea for every LTD benefits claim. For chronic pain cases, sound advice and advocacy can be the difference that gets your claim approved.
To learn more about getting your full LTD benefits entitlement, please contact MA LTD Lawyers.
